Meddling
by ladyneige
Summary: Chapter 4: Mark initiates a matchmaking session disguised as a strategy briefing.
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: **Serra takes it upon herself to play matchmaker, and Matthew can only watch anxiously. Her first victims: Florina and Hector. Draws a little bit from _Emma_ by Jane Austen.

**Disclaimer: **FE's not mine. Nor is _Emma_. Now that it's been taken care of...

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**Chapter 1**: A Matchmaker is Born

"Mattheeww!"

Matthew stifled a groan as Serra caught up with him. It was early and Matthew was in no mood to humor anyone, least of all Serra. It's alright, he thought, as long as she keeps quiet.

"Matthew, you will _not _believe what Lord Hector said to me!"

Matthew sighed. Wishful thinking. Evidently, it was already time for Serra's daily complaints. He glared at Hector, whose large frame was easily distinguishable from those of his companions. If only he would stop responding so rudely to Serra, maybe then she would…shut…up.

"Matthew, are you listening to me? What are you staring at?" Suddenly, Serra's right arm whipped up to the side, stopping Matthew in his path.

"What?" Matthew asked, startled by her sudden movement. He started to push her arm down.

"Look over there," Serra whispered, pointing. Matthew followed her finger to Florina, who was walking alone with her Pegasus.

"That's Florina," he said, annoyed, "We met her ages ago."

"No, not that," Serra said, moving to point at someone else. Hector? He was talking to Oswin, who must have said something to offend him because he started to raise his voice.

Matthew looked blankly at Serra, already tired of her antics.

Serra let out a loud sigh. "Do I have to spell it out for you?" She pointed at Florina, then Hector. "She _likes_ him!"

"What gives you that idea? No, don't tell me." Matthew glanced from Florina to Hector. They were so different, it was likely impossible. "So?"

"She's so shy, she would never approach a huge lug like him," Serra said with a shrewd, calculating look on her face.

"No," Matthew said right away, "Forget whatever it is that you're planning." Serra's thoughtful expressions were almost nerve-wracking. "Er, didn't her Pegasus land on him once? I'm sure he hasn't forgotten that yet."

"Oh, they've already gotten past that," Serra said airily, "They were talking about it the other day. Florina's gathering courage—she got a few sentences out and everything." She paused for a second, and then grinned. "My tutoring must be paying off!"

"Serra, eavesdropping is rude."

"Oh, like you're one to talk," Serra said dismissively. She bit her lower lip and looked rapidly from Florina to Hector, no doubt brainstorming ways in which to bring the two unfortunate souls together. Her thoughts were interrupted by Mark, who was shouting out orders, making it clear to the army that he was anticipating a battle to erupt soon.

"Merlinus, I'll have Vaida guard you this time around…Her wyvern won't eat you, stop complaining…Sain, go ride with Kent and leave Priscilla alone…"

"Serra!" Mark called, coming up behind her. "Listen, I'll need you to support Florina," he said in a low voice, "She gets injured easily; just keep an eye out for her in battle, alright?"

Matthew could have sworn he saw something spark in Serra's eyes.

"I'm not about to chase around a Peg knight," Serra said, pouting. "Why don't you put her with Hector?"

"Hector, eh?" Mark looked at Hector with deep thought. "I was going to pair him with Lyn but I can see the benefit of…" He gave Serra an enigmatic look before running off to talk to Florina, who was visibly nervous, and even more so once their discussion ended.

Serra smiled. "Just wait, Matthew. You'll see that not only am I superior in looks and intellect, but in matters of the heart, too."

Matthew shook his head. Nothing good can come of this.

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_I suppose it was a bit rushed? But this is supposed to be a fun fic so no matter! (no, just kidding, I'll try to slow the pace) Leave a hello :)_

**Next chapter: **Serra convinces Mark of the strategic value of matchmaking.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary: **Mark learns that Serra has some sound advice regarding battle strategies.

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**Chapter 2: **Mark Learns About Supports

Mark sat in his tent, hunched over several pages of battle notes. His units were confounded by his ability to acquire information on enemy units and territory layouts even before a battle commenced. After meeting Mark for the first time, Hector even implied that perhaps he was working for the other side, although Eliwood was quick to quell such suspicion. And rightly so—Mark's sources may be mysterious, but they were reliable too. After all, there were yet to be any casualties in the army.

And so Mark's eyes were always on the lookout for sources. And his sixth sense told him that he had just found a new one in the most unlikely person. He set down his notes and crawled out of his tent, cursing his legs for having fallen asleep. He stood up awkwardly and made his way to the healer's tent.

Mark found Serra sitting by the tent, watching the others celebrate yet another victory. He crouched down next to her. She shot him a look of annoyance, clearly displeased by his interruption.

"Er, hello." Mark suddenly felt as though he had done something inappropriate.

Serra gave a dramatic sigh. "Is this about the staves? How many times have I told you that I am a top-class healer? I need a perfect staff to channel my perfect magic."

"You can't just grab whatever you want," Mark said right away, "And Merlinus is too afraid of you to say anything. What did you d— Wait, that's not why I'm here."

"Well, make it quick. I'm watching a love triangle unveil in front of my eyes." She shifted her attention back towards the group.

Mark followed her gaze and observed nothing that suggested that a dramatic scene was in progress. He shook his head, refusing to fall back into Serra's pace. "I want to talk about earlier," he said.

"What are you talking about?" Serra asked, still staring at whomever.

"Hector and Florina. They took down that guy together. What made you suggest putting them together?" Mark knew he was a brilliant tactician. And as such, he felt the need to analyze everything.

"Oh!" Serra perked up and swiveled her head so fast that Mark lost his balance and fell back. "She likes h—wait! There _has _been a recent development. She loves him!"

"Florina loves _Hector_?"

"Oh, you men are all the same. So blind to see it. Matthew wouldn't believe me either but I heard them talking and…" She started speaking rapidly.

"No, no, no," Mark interrupted. "I see what you mean." His words stopped Serra midsentence. "She's been ogling him ever since the mishap at the battle in Caelin," Mark explained. "And Hector's a touchy guy but he's been pretty nice about it…although it probably helps that Lyn is always glaring at him about scaring the poor girl."

Serra stared at him, mouth agape. Mark's expression went from thoughtful to shrewd and she knew that he was already plotting something. "Mark, I've decided that you're worthy of my undivided attention, after all."

"Thanks," Mark said, dryly. "Anyways, there is tactical merit to this. They're more likely to defend each other on the battlefield if they care for each other. Although fraternizing is usually discouraged and they can just as easily put others in danger because of their emotions…"

"Oh, stop thinking too much." Serra sniffed. "Kill two birds with one stone: let me be matchmaker and you can experiment with new tactics. Easy."

"Only if you provide me with information," Mark said. He offered a hand.

"Done," Serra said, shaking his hand without hesitation.

Mark stood up and dusted himself off. "Wait," he said, turning around. "So who's involved in this love triangle?"

Serra grinned and put up three fingers. "Lyndis, Sir Kent, and the Sacaen archer—Rath."

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_Hope you enjoyed that._

**Next chapter: **Matthew is on to them both.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary: **What are Mark and Serra up to? Matthew can't contain his curiosity (and suspicion).

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**Chapter 3: **A Covert Conversation

Matthew was a trained spy. As such, he knew right away when something was amiss. It was an amateur's job, this one. The subjects in question weren't even attempting to veil their strange behavior. How dare they insult his expertise?

Matthew would watch with narrowed eyes as Mark and Serra conversed earnestly. Over the last few days, they spent a lot of time together, undoubtedly plotting something. Matthew could tell—Mark made no effort to be discreet whenever he came around with stacks of parchment. Together, he and Serra painstakingly wrote out _something_. It was becoming a daily ritual, and Matthew was concerned that Mark would soon start adopting Serra's usual attitude. The thought of having a Serra-like figure in control of the army made him extremely uncomfortable.

The best course of action was to use conversation to obtain information. Finally having had enough of passively observing the two, Matthew set off on his self-assigned mission with an intense desire to get to the bottom of the strange behavior. The best time to do so: after dinner, when everyone was content and lethargic.

"Serra!" Matthew forced her to sit as soon she made to get up from her seat. "You've been busy lately. You and Mark are planning something, eh?"

Serra yawned. "Yes."

"What?" Matthew asked, confused. Just like that?

"Yes, we are."

"Ho-how could you just say that so easily?" Matthew mentally kicked himself for being caught off guard—well, it wasn't supposed to be _this _easy, after all.

"I've got nothing to hide. If you want some juicy information, you'd do better to go elsewhere. I think Merlinus is smuggling something. Why not check that out?" Serra rolled her eyes.

"I could care less if Merl—wait, don't change the subject. Let me start over: _what _are you two planning?"

Serra grinned. "It's nothing to trouble your little head over, Matthew."

Matthew groaned inwardly. It was time for Plan B—get Mark. Matthew left Serra, who was dangerously close to dozing off where she sat.

"Mark," Matthew called, approaching his target.

"Mmpf," Mark replied. He was eating bread while simultaneously flipping through parchments.

"Missed dinner again? What've you got there?" Matthew peered at the papers, and could only make out names. Eliwood…Fiora…Ninian...Matthew frowned. He didn't have the faintest idea.

"Oh, this is my new project," Mark explained, catching Matthew's confused look. "It's a compatibility chart."

"Compatibility? Weapon wise?"

"Romance wise," Mark corrected. "Well, friendship too, I suppose. But mostly romance."

"_Romance? _Hell, what has Serra done to you?" Matthew gingerly took a page from Mark's pile. "This is…thorough."

"It is," Mark agreed, giving his work a look of pride. "Serra is a wealth of information."

"That's it then?" Matthew set the page down. "You, the great tactician, you're _matchmaking_?"

Mark grimaced. "Don't say it like that. You'd be surprised to learn how effectively peoples' affinities work on the battlefield." Matthew scowled. "Tell you what," Mark said, "I'm going to start moving units around tomorrow. You see for yourself if it works or not."

"That's it?" Matthew asked again doubtfully.

"That's it. Sorry mate, no espionage here." Mark gave him a playful salute and walked off, parchments in hand and half a loaf of bread in his mouth.

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**Next chapter: **Matchmaking in practice.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary: **Mark initiates a matchmaking session disguised as a strategy briefing.

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**Chapter 4:** Letting the chips fall where they may

True to his word, Mark was ready to put his new strategy to work the very next morning.

"Urgent meeting in five minutes. Gather around. Bring your food if you have to," Mark announced soon after devouring his breakfast. He paced back and forth as his units slowly assembled, some still groggy from sleep. Lowen in particular looked as though he was already falling asleep under the safety of his fringe.

"I'll be brief," Mark promised to no one in particular. He stood in attention as everyone settled. "Over the last few days, I've been reorganizing battle positions," he said, waving a handful of parchments in the air. "I'm going to be assigning some of you to specific group tasks in order to encourage coordination. Among yourselves, choose someone to 'spot' within your designated groups. You _will_ be responsible for one another's safety and success in battle."

His audience shuffled. "I'll announce the general changes now," Mark continued. He scanned the top page of his notes. "Those with wyverns will be patrolling the skies. Peg Knights, keep watch near the axe wielders. Bowmen, support from behind but stay in each other's sights. Cavaliers and knights, you will lead. Anyone else on horseback, you will be supporting the swordsmen. Obviously, the healers can't be with everyone at all times so use your vulneraries wisely. I'll be directing the remaining magic units on a per-battle basis."

"It would probably be a good idea for you to acquaint yourselves with your groups and more importantly, your partners. As usual, I will be observing everyone during battle so don't run off to fight on your own." He glanced pointedly at Marcus. "Please remember that there are more cost-effective ways of taking out an enemy than running at him with a Silver Lance."

"Alright," Mark said, clearing his throat. "Thank you for your attention. Unless you have questions, we're done here."

People started to disperse, discussing the tactics among themselves. Erk, Marcus, and Kent remained behind. When it became clear that Lyn was also waiting to speak to Mark, Kent crept away inconspicuously.

Erk, who looked very uncomfortable, hesitated to speak first. Marcus took this as an opportunity to approach Mark first.

"I assume I won't be riding ahead," Marcus said grimly.

Mark nodded in affirmation. "I know you would prefer to accompany Lord Eliwood, but I'd like you to watch the caravan—at least for the time being." Marcus tilted his head in acknowledgement but did not say anything, clearly unpleased about having been assigned guard duty.

"Right, who's next?" Mark looked at Erk, who had no choice but to come forward.

"About Priscilla," Erk said in a low voice, "Is she included in the group that was assigned to trail the swordsmen?"

Mark peered at him curiously. Erk cleared his throat. "I'm just concerned because I have a responsibility to protect her. She hired me, after all," he said quickly.

"Except she willingly joined the army," Mark interjected, secretly amused. "Don't worry; I know what I'm doing. You need to worry about yourself. Last time you ran off and got yourself ambushed by snipers, both Serra and Priscilla had to come to your rescue." Erk muttered something under his breath and wandered off, embarrassed.

Lyn, as it turned out, only wanted to let Mark know that she was considering adopting the bow as her second weapon of choice.

"Poor guy." Serra's voice sounded behind him once Lyn had left. Mark gave a little jump.

"Don't do that," he responded testily. "I'm still recovering from the time Rebecca kicked me from behind because she 'thought I was Wil.' Who's a poor guy?"

"Sir Kent," Serra said, gesturing to Lyn, who was animatedly talking to Rath. "There are as many casualties in love as there are in war," she sighed.

"Uh, sure, that's great," Mark said, absentmindedly. "Are you happy with how things are progressing?"

"Absolutely," Serra chirped. "I just wanted to let you know that I approve." She skipped off in an instant, leaving Mark to thank her retreating back.

"Well, I'm disappointed," a voice said. Mark jerked his head to the side and sighed. "Matthew. You all have to stop sneaking up on me. It's not good for my heart." He took in Matthew's frown. "What is it?"

"I thought I would see some arguments and fistfights."

"I'm glad to hear that you had so much confidence in me," Mark said dryly.

"Well, I'm still not convinced. Should you be playing with people's lives like this?"

Mark shook his head vehemently. "Never playing. I just happened to assign some people to the same tasks. Let the chips fall where they may."

"And what if Serra's matchmaking backfires?" Matthew countered.

"Then I would still have a decent battle strategy. Never mind the matchmaking."

Matthew peered around. "Don't let her hear you saying that… By the way, what is my assignment?"

Mark glanced at Hector. "You have orders that I'm not going to get involved in. Just go about things as usual. Speaking of not getting involved," he said, looking back at Matthew, "Where were you this whole time?"

"I was lurking around the caravan. Merlinus stashes some good food inside one of the book chests. I hope he isn't in the mood for sweets today."

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_I hope I'm not too far off the mark in terms of timing in-game. This chapter was a bit difficult to write; hope it wasn't too disappointing…. Mark's 'strategy' probably isn't the best but hey, we all had to forgo some strategy to get those supports, right? Or so my 2 star tactics rating would taunt me…_

_Now, onto another note: Thanks to the reviewers for the feedback! I'd also like to thank everyone who added this to their story alert. _:)

**Next chapter: **The plan has unforeseen consequences…


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